Hotel Zaza Austin opens its doors in the warehouse district

The long-developing Hotel Zaza Austin is now open and doing business Downtown Austin’s warehouse district.

The 24-story luxury/boutique-ish hotel has 159 guest rooms, including local versions of the chain’s branded concept suites. It alsos feature a seventh-floor lounge and restaurant, Group Therapy, which overlooks the pool and the city’s revived Republic Square; a casual ground-level restaurant called Perfect Strangers; a full-service spa available to guests and locals; the aforementioned pool; and 8,500 square feet of meeting and events spaces.

The chain announced its plan for the mixed-use development—which also includes the 215 new residences of Gables Republic Square—in 2012. The project was almost immediately beset by delays, including one that occurred shortly after its eventual groundbreaking in 2016, when the site began filling with water from an underground spring. Construction crews hit a natural gas line soon after the flooding was handled, somehow. The projected completion date was then moved back to 2019. The opening announcement was made Tuesday.

Photos of the new hotel reveal some updates from previously released renderings—most notably, a bit of modern splash and color has been added to the guest rooms, creating an eclectic contrast to the rooms’s traditional elements. The pool deck and the ground-floor bar and restaurant, Perfect Strangers, look brightened up, as well. Rates at the hotel start at $289 per night.

Note: This post has been updated with new photographs and the information that the hotel is now open.